Educational Science

Chuckwalla Photos: Meet this Large, Desert-Dwelling Lizard

Boulders galore (Image credit: Linda & Dr. Dick Buscher)Throughout the Baja and northern Mexico as well as the deserts of the American Southwest, mountains made up of millions of boulders are commonly found. Some, as shown here, are the remains of 1.6-million-year-old lava flows from ancient volcanoes that broke through...

Iguana Relative Shows How Lizards Spread Worldwide

An 80-million-year-old lizard discovered in southern Brazil has provided a surprising clue about how these reptiles evolved, and where they once lived, according to a new study. Until now, researchers had found acrodontans only in the Old World, including Africa and Asia. (This is a type of lizard is called...

Chameleons are known for their color-changing trickery and tongue-lashing feats. Now, scientists have found the tiniest of these clever reptiles also pack the most power in their elastic tongues. Here's a look at the amazing animals and their tongue-y feats. [Read full article on tiny chameleons] Tiny but mighty A...

Facts About Gila Monsters

Gila monsters are the largest lizards native to the United States. They get their name from Arizona's Gila River basin, where they were first discovered. Gila (pronounced hee-la) monsters are also one of only two venomous lizards in the world. Size and descriptionGila monsters have large and stout bodies with...

Why Some Chameleons Are Expert Tree Climbers

Chameleons may be known for their impressive color-changing abilities, but these curious creatures are also expert tree climbers. Now, new research suggests that chameleons can scale trees because they have twice as many bones in their wrists and ankles when they are developing as scientists had previously thought. Many chameleon...

In Photos: Amber Preserves Cretaceous Lizards

Colorful scales (Image credit: Daza et al. Sci. Adv. 2016; 2 : e1501080)Amber preserves ancient animals with a level of detail unrivaled by specimens fossilized in rock. By scrutinizing a group of lizards trapped in amber 99 million years ago, scientists discovered a number of unusual features that helped them...

Female Komodo Dragon Saved After Her Eggs Burst

DENVER — A complex surgery has saved the life of a captive Komodo dragon at the Denver Zoo. Anika, a 6-year-old female Komodo dragon, developed dystocia, a condition in which reptiles are unable to deposit their eggs. Dystocia is also called egg-binding, and it can be fatal for female lizards....

Rare Amber-Entombed Lizards Preserved in Amazing Detail

Amber-imprisoned lizards from Southeast Asia that date back 99 million years ago make up the oldest assemblage of tropical lizards ever found in amber, according to a new study. The tiny, trapped fossils, found in Myanmar, represent an unparalleled sampling of species diversity for tropical lizards from the Cretaceous era,...

Burning Love: Cold-Blooded Lizards Heat Up to Mate

Although lizards may have a chilly reputation, some species might not stay cold year-round: Tegu lizards can raise their body temperatures during mating season to several degrees higher than the environment around them, new research finds. That's no small feat for a cold-blooded reptile. Tegu lizards are not as hefty...

Allosaurus: Facts About the 'Different Lizard'

Allosaurus was among the earliest dinosaur discoveries, and fossils are plentiful, making it a darling of paleontologists, as well as amateur dinosaur observers. This large theropod (bipedal, carnivorous dinosaur), which is Utah's state fossil, lived 155.7 million to 150.8 million years ago during the late Jurassic Period. Allosaurus is the...